Listener
by Kooro
Summary: A different ending for season finale: A Fine Meth. Marshall returns to Mary's home to give the only help he can offer: to listen.


**After watching the finale, I have to say… I was sooo disappointed. There was hardly any Mary/Marshall at all. The only thing the episode did was create some waterworks and explain what happened to the drugs. **

**Now we have to wait until NEXT summer to see what happens next and pray that Mary and Marshall actually get together at some point. (Sigh) **

**So, dissatisfied with the season finale ending (why end with Raph anyway?), I'm going to write my own interpretation of how the episode should have ended. **

**(P.S. I'm sorry if I offended anyone who was just fine with the episode as is and didn't have a problem with a Raph ending.) **

Listener

Marshall pulled up into the Shannon driveway.

The sun was already burning brightly in the sky and, by now, most of the police that had been scouring Mary's house for drugs had left the premises. A few stray cops remained, laboring under the harsh whip of Agent O'Connor but they were not as much as a threat as they were last night.

Marshall flashed his badge to the tired officers and parked in the driveway. He stepped out of the car, bringing a large paper bag out with him. An officer came up and demanded to see the contents of the bag with a monotonous voice. Marshall waited patiently as the officer fished through the food items he had brought the Shannons. Without even looking at Marshall, the officer waved him away and continued digging up the front lawn.

Marshall glared after him. It had been such a nice green lawn and now it was spotted with misshapen brown holes and littered with roots and dirt.

Marshall inhaled deeply and turned to face the worse of the police investigation: Mary's house. He couldn't help but cringe at the sight of it. It looked even wore in the light than it had at night.

O'Connor had spared nothing. The roof was pummeled with shingles thrown onto the lawn. The porch light had been smashed and the windows were all pulled up. The paint had been scratched and the steps dented. The front door was gone and was replaced with a flapping piece of plastic: courtesy of one of the more sympathetic police officers.

Marshall approached the makeshift door, avoiding the destruction that lay in his path. There was plenty of glass and plaster to look out for as he made his way to the entrance.

"Knock, knock," he called since the doorbell had been dismantled.

"Go away," a tired voice answered in a disgruntled manner.

Marshall smirked. He knew that voice only too well. Without hesitation, Marshall slipped past the plastic covering and walked into the house. He gave a long whistle at the sight.

There seemed to be more destruction that before. The floorboards were uprooted. The walls were impaled mercilessly. All the lights and lamps had been thoroughly smashed and cupboards and cabinets had been wrenched open and stolen of all their contents. Every stair had a hole and the rugs had been peeled back to reveal the scarred padding beneath. Pots and pans were strewn about and picture frames were broken.

Every single item had been brutally crushed.

"I said go away," the voice threatened with a dangerous edge.

Marshall turned in the direction of the sound just as his partner came around the doorway.

"Oh. Hey Marshall," Mary said in an apologetic tone.

Marshall took one look at her and sighed sadly. His partner looked just as ragged as the house with her hair thrown messily in a ponytail. She wore the same clothes that she had on last night and had a fine layer of dust coating them. Mary's face was pale and streaked with dried sweat mingled with dirt. Her eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep and red-rimmed from tears.

Still, Marshall knew that Mary didn't take kindly to pity so he threw on a smile and walked up to her.

"Thought you'd like these," he said, offering the paper bag out to Mary.

Mary snatched at the bag and looked inside. Her stubborn barrier dropped away as her eyes softened, exposing the fragile girl that she was.

"Thanks," she sighed. "You're a lifesaver."

Marshall nodded in response and followed Mary out of the post family room and into what was left of a bedroom.

"Watch your feet," Mary said as she expertly avoided the various debris that littered the floor.

Marshall watched the floor carefully, disliking the idea of stepping on anything.

"Mom, Squish. Time to get up," Mary said gently.

Marshall inhaled sharply. Lying on the floor, bundled in sleeping bags, slept Jinx and Brandi. The bed was nothing more than a pillowcase on springs so the Shannons had been forced to sleep on the floor.

Marshall noticed a pile of blankets close to the waking Brandi. No doubt it was Mary's bed. Ever the parent of the household, Mary had surrendered the sleeping bags to her family and had taken to the floor with only blankets to lie on. Marshall clenched his fists at the thought.

"Come on, breakfast," Mary said.

Marshall couldn't stand the defeated tone in her voice. Mary was keeping strong for her family. He could tell by her stilted movements and her energy-lacking voice that Mary was ready to break done. She was probably exhausted from lack of sleep and the thought of her destroyed home. Her family was the only thing keeping her strong at this point. She couldn't show weakness, not in front of them.

Jinx and Brandi stirred and slowly, their eyes fluttered open.

"We have food?" Jinx asked with genuine curiosity.

Marshall clenched his jaw in anger. O'Connor had taken everything from the Shannon family. The only thing they still had was the clothes on their backs. But even they were probably searched thoroughly.

"Yeah, Marshall brought some," Mary replied as she put down the bag to help Brandi unwrap herself from the sleeping bag.

Brandi and Jinx finally untangled themselves form their sleeping gear and stared expectantly at the bag.

Mary grabbed the bag and flipped it over, allowing its contents to spill out over the floor. There were donuts, milk, a bad of salad, water bottles and several pieces of fruit.

Brandi and Jinx stared wide-eyed at the gifts before them and hungrily grabbed what they wanted. Mary hung back, waiting for her family to satisfy themselves before she could treat herself.

Marshall watched them all with growing anger. How dare O'Connor take everything from these people and leave them with nothing. That haircut mishap was going to pay dearly for making the Shannon family go through such unnecessary hardships.

Mary finally reached into the thinner pile of food and selected an apple. Jinx and Brandi practically inhaled their share and reached for more. Mary was able to salvage another apple before the rest of the food was happily devoured.

Marshall knelt down beside Mary. "I'm sorry. I should have brought more."

"It's ok," Mary assured weakly. "You've done plenty. I can't thank you enough."

Marshall smiled warmly at her but Mary kept her eyes forward, automatically taking another bite of the apple. Marshal frowned at her strange and unnatural behavior.

"How can we repay you Mr. Mann," Jinx cried, rasping Marshall's hands.

"Yeah, we owe you," Brandi agreed.

Marshall smiled at them, noting their red-rimmed eyes. Something had happened before the destruction of the house. He had seen these tear-scarred eyes before O'Connor had demanded the search of the house. Something bigger than the loss of a house was going on.

He stole a glance at Mary but she was still listlessly eating her apple. He wanted to ask what had happened, but that wasn't what he did. No, Marshall was a listener. He would be there when Mary was ready to talk. Until then, he would offer his help in any way that he could. It was the usual routine.

"I'd offer you coffee but they broke the coffee pot a while ago," Jinx pouted.

"It's ok," Marshall said, pulling his hands out of Jinx's grip. "I just want to help. You don't owe me anything."

Jinx nodded with a sigh. Then she turned to Brandi. "Come on, let's wash up," she said, getting to her feet. "I doubt that they turned off the water to the house yet."

Jinx helped Brandi up and then turned to Mary. She examined her daughter briefly and then turned and walked away, towing Brandi behind her.

Marshall watched, ever the silent observer. Something was definitely going on between the three family members. He looked at Mary. She was done with her apple but made no move to get up and follow her family.

"How can I help?" Marshall asked. He had already offered to rent a room. He could bring more food and possibly some clothes but it wasn't like he could get them a new house or fix the old one. He was limited in options to help his partner and it tore at him.

Mary gave her head the tiniest of shakes.

Her odd behavior was scaring him now. First she had been kidnapped and then had lost her house. He was sure that she was struggling with several different feeling at the same time and the best way to calm said feeling was to talk. But Mary wasn't one to drop her guard like that. She was never one for talking openly.

Marshall was experienced in such circumstances but the tension in the home was too much. The cold way the Shannons regarded each other was unnerving. Sure they had had their setbacks and complications. What family didn't? But this… this was unusual, even in Mary's standing.

Marshall decided that he couldn't wait for Mary to speak. That would take too long and by then, the internal damage would be too great. Mary had to express herself now or else the bottled up emotions would destroy her.

"Mary," Marshall said, using her name. On rare occasions that called for seriousness, Marshall said Mary's name to get her attention. This was a perfect situation for using the one word that Marshall held in reserve.

Mary blinked and looked at her partner.

"What happened?" Marshall asked gently.

Tears pooled in Mary's eyes and overflowed to trail down her cheek. Her lips trembled and her body shook. She inhaled sharply in an attempt to control her voice.

Marshall didn't move. Comfort would only further distraught Mary. His sympathy would be mistaken for pity and Mary would shy away. He wouldn't be helping her if he were to touch her. So, he sat silently; patiently waiting for Mary to collect herself.

"We had… a fight," Mary finally croaked out, her voice hoarse. "About me… and daddy."

Marshall was slightly taken aback at the reference to James Shannon: father of Mary and the gambler who had left her family.

"I said… some things and they… hurt me," Mary gasped. She looked at Marshall with watery eyes. "I hurt… them."

Marshall could only watch her as Mary turned away to bury her face in her hands. So that was what had happened. Mary and her family had started a fight. Things had been said that would forever scar them and couldn't be taken back. Things were brought up that should have stayed hidden. Now Mary was suffering for her actions and her family were avoiding her as a consequence.

"I showed them… daddy's letters. I hurt them," Mary continued, her voice muffled by her hands and tears. "Now, the drugs are missing… and my house…" Mary's voice stopped in a choke. Tears slipped between her fingers to splash against her legs.

"I'm sorry," she cried.

Marshall knew who she was taking to. Mary was apologizing to her mother and her sister.

"I'm sorry too," a hushed whisper came fro the other side of the room.

Marshall and Mary looked up quickly to see a teary-eyed Jinx clasping a sniffling Brandi.

Mary sobbed and Jinx and Brandi rushed to her side. They hugged one another as their tears mixed on the floor. Marshall stood and backed away to give them some space.

He had served his purpose as the medium. He had done his job: he had listened. Now it was up to the family to talk the rest of the things out and work through it. Together, he was sure that they could. For now though, his presence was no longer needed. Now all he could do was help them physically.

Marshall quietly made his way back to the front door, silently promising to bring more provisions later. He was just about to slip back under the plastic cover when the sound of approaching footsteps attracted his attention.

Marshall turned to see Mary walking up to him. Her eyes were still laden with tears but the defiant spark was back and burning brightly in her eyes. She was going to be fine.

Mary didn't stop but walked right into Marshall, bringing her arms up and around his torso.

Stunned, Marshall weakly wrapped his arms around Mary's shoulders.

"Thank-you," her voice came from his chest.

Marshall smiled. He pressed Mary closer against his body and she gripped the back of his jacket tightly.

All too soon, they parted. Mary hurriedly dried her eyes and gave Marshall a reassuring smile.

"Call me if you need me," Marshall said with a returning smile.

"I will," Mary nodded.

He had no control over his body as he bowed his head to lightly touch his lips against Mary's forehead. "That's my girl," Marshall replied.

Embarrassed – yet not totally dissatisfied – of his action, Marshall quickly left the Shannon house and entered his car. He started it up and gave a last look at the door before backing out and driving to work.

The last thing he saw was Mary waving to him, her usual smirk brightening her features.

**And there's another. **

**A belated thanks to the support I'm still getting from my readers. Keep reading, keep writing, and keep watching. **


End file.
